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The cancellation of Grondona – Infobae

Julio Humberto Grondona, was the leader of Argentine soccer for 35 years

Yesterday an act was held on the AFA premises through which that space, which was called Julio Humberto Grondona, Happened to be called Lionel Andres Messi.

Put this way, it seems like just another tribute to the many he has received over the years and especially in these months, who is unquestionably the best soccer player in the world. However, the case is so overwhelmingly striking that it requires at least a couple of reflections.

The first of these reflections is that putting Messi on the AFA premises implies cancel history and pass into oblivion those who with well-founded reasons obtained the land, developed the building and consolidated the multiplicity of benefits of this complex for Argentine soccer. This would simply be a formal fact. Who did it matters less than what he did, and in this sense we cannot erase 35 years of the most important leader of Argentine soccer, who on his own merit first led Conmebol and later became FIFA vice president.

Grondona was also the one who claimed the new order of the Argentine soccer teams of all categories, giving them absolute priority in the context of the organization of the AFA.

After the discovery of the plate that imposes the new name, there were questions not without some indignation. For example: would there have been a Messi in the Argentine national team without the quick reaction of Grondona, president of AFA, who organized for him in 48 hours the match that would give formality to his status as a player of the national team for all time? The answer is: without Grondona we would not have had Messi. And without Maradona we would not have had Messi either. And without a firm leadership we would not have had selected youth and senior World Champions, as we had under the presidency of the same leader.

Lionel Messi receives a plate from Julio Grondona (file photo: Mosteirin / DP / NA)

Messi is exempt as the subject of this questioning. Although it would not have been bad if his widely demonstrated humility had inspired him to give up such an honor. Rather, it would seem that he, or someone close to him, would have expected such an unusual decision to be taken as support for an indubitable opinion: if the AFA names their property after Messi, Argentina recognizes Messi as the best of all. the times and this ends forever with any football debate of comparison with Maradona. When the property is called Messi and Messi facilitates such a transgression, it is he who is telling us “I deserve it above all”. And a phrase of his, said at the time of the ceremony, could reinforce this interpretation: “I always said that tributes must be made while alive” (More tributes while alive, Lio?).

What is also serious is that there were leaders present who accepted with satisfaction the change of name of the AFA property in Ezeiza, an idea of Carlos Bilardo and a merit of Grondona to obtain the commodatum of the land for 99 years. Those leaders were there applauding, as if history were an act of emotion and without loyalty.

It draws attention in turn Claudio Tapia, the current president of the AFA, has once again emphatically mentioned that his mission was to refound Argentine soccer. And then the consequent question is: refound it from what, why, how? And the answer: we won a world Championship glorious, legitimate, deserved, indisputable. But Argentine soccer continues to be the same in its stadiums as it was before the Qatar World Cup. Without going into inopportune details, let’s see internal promotion procedures, quality of arbitration, legitimacy of VAR and comfort of stadiums and playing fields.

It is true that the World Champions deserve everything, and much more their Captain. It is also true that History deserves to be respected because without it this would not have existed.

It was a shame to have offended the history of football and to have disrespected the memory of those who made it great. Grondona is also the symbol of all heroic actors: Bilardo, Maradona and all his generations.

Keep reading:

The AFA Ezeiza property stopped being called Julio Grondona and now bears the name of Lionel Messi
FIFA premiered the Qatar World Cup film with unpublished images of Argentina’s consecration

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